Digital Marketing and the Role of AI - MAN00068M

«Back to module search

  • Department: The York Management School
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: M
  • Academic year of delivery: 2025-26

Module summary

This module explores modern-day marketing that has got a distinctive digital flavour while highlighting the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI). By providing a broad range of theories, concepts, case studies and research related to digital marketing and AI applications, the module hopes to whet the appetite of any aspiring marketer.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 2 2025-26

Module aims

Specifically, it aims to:
- introduce emerging digital marketing principles as an increasingly important part of marketing theory and practice,
- offer an understanding of the paradigm shift from traditional marketing to digital and AI-driven marketing,
- provide an understanding of the dynamics and interrelationships among key marketing variables, with a focus on how AI is transforming the definition and execution of effective marketing strategies in a digital context,
- present ways to critically analyse, plan, develop and critique digital and AI-driven marketing practices,
- demonstrate innovative research in the field of digital and AI-driven marketing.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

Content related learning outcomes
- Identify the impact of digital technology and AI on both organisations and consumers.
- Demonstrate a systematic understanding of traditional marketing theories and concepts in the digital landscape, considering the impact and opportunities presented by AI.
- Critically apply digital and AI-driven marketing concepts to a range of organisational types.
- Synthesise a range of digital marketing theories, including those exploring the implications of AI, to critique a range of real-world cases.
- Critically analyse digital marketing challenges and effectively formulate digital and AI-driven marketing campaigns for businesses in a global context.

Skills-related learning outcomes
- Develop an understanding of the importance of group work and how it can contribute to the development of your personal skills.
- Work both independently and in teams, set goals, and complete tasks within deadlines.
- Think critically to produce logical and structured arguments supported by relevant evidence.
- Sharpen your academic writing and referencing skills.

Module content

Indicative topics to be covered include:
Digital marketing concepts, tools and techniques
Analysis of the online marketplace
Segmentation and positioning of products and services online
Consumer behaviour online
Omni-channel marketing
Search engine marketing
Social media marketing
Crisis management on social media
Use of AI in content marketing
Crowdsourcing to AI-sourcing
AI-based applications such as chatbots and recommendation systems
Prompt engineering
Ethical considerations and bias in AI-driven marketing
Virtual experiences and the metaverse
Human-AI collaboration in marketing

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 75
Groupwork 25

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 75
Oral presentation/seminar/exam 25

Module feedback

After the group work, each student group will receive oral feedback with detailed comments on their formative assessment, explaining how the group performed in relation to each of the criteria used for assessment.
At the end of term, a module evaluation report will be prepared to be approved by the Board of Examiners and uploaded onto the VLE.
Turnaround time will be consistent with the departmental policy.

Indicative reading

Chaffey, D., and Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2019). Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice (7th ed.). Pearson.

Some Useful Journals
Computers in Human Behavior
European Journal of Marketing
Harvard Business Review
Internet Research
Journal of Advertising Research
Journal of Business Research
Journal of Interactive Marketing
Journal of Product & Brand Management